The Dilemma
by aplacetomakeyourstand
Summary: High School Caskett AU. Will Rick and Kate have a teen pregnancy on their hands?
1. Chapter 1

It had been four long months since Kate Beckett had started dating Richard Rodgers, the class clown. All of her friends disapproved of his playboy facade, naturally, but she didn't care. Despite his complete lack of tact, he nearly achieved perfection in her book. Which, by the way, was practically _impossible_. His natural charm and quick wit made all of "those girls" throw themselves at him, but he always managed to keep his distance. And she liked how things were going.

They met in Psych 101, after he rushed in just as the bell rang on the first day of the semester. The only seat left was right next to hers (which was coincidentally, right smack dab in the middle of the front row). Mr. Hinkley, their teacher, was a horribly wrinkly old man who should have retired years ago, and hated change. So, there they had to sit the rest of the semester. And he _hated_ Rick. But so did every other teacher, for that matter.

So, as one can imagine, one is not late for Mr. Hinkley's class. Ever. Which is why, on one chilly Tuesday afternoon, right after lunch, Kate hustled rapidly to Psych, even though she did not feel well, and running was only making matters worse. Nevertheless, she arrived seconds before the bell rang and hurriedly sat next to Rick.

"Hey," he whispered, "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I think so. I just feel super sick to my stomach."

"Maybe you should call your mom and go home-"

"Mr. Rogers. Is there something you would like to share with the rest of us?" old man Hinkley spat.

"Not at this time," Rick replied, "but you be sure and ask me again tomorrow." And with that he threw a saucy little wink to Kate, which made her giggle.

"That's 30 minutes of detention for you again, Richard. And Ms. Beckett? You will be joining him."

Later that day, in detention, Kate started to freak out. First of all, she had never been in detention before, and felt extremely out of place. Her stomach just wouldn't feel better (she had thrown up three times already, but stayed to serve detention), and she just realized that she skipped a period.

Now in hyper panic mode, she started thinking back to the last time she and Rick had sex. It must have been three weeks ago, and she was supposed to have her period last week. _We used a condom_ , she thought, _so it must be stress_. She hadn't exactly been getting along with her parents the past couple months. _Still, I should talk to Rick. But what if he freaks out and dumps me?_ _No, he wouldn't be that guy. But how much did she really know him? Could they actually do this if she was pregnant?_ Her mind started spinning out of control.

She turned to face Rick. "Hey babe, I need to talk to you."

"Ok, well we're almost done with detention anyway. Do you want to hang out after school?" he answered.

"Sure."

They waited for a few more minutes until their time was up, then started to make their way to the street so they could get a cab.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Rick asked her.

"Well, I-I" She took a pause, gathered her courage, and got it over with, "I think I might be pregnant."

Rick almost tripped over a crack in the sidewalk, he was so taken aback. "W-what?"

"I mean, I've been throwing up a lot the past couple days, and my back is sore, and I missed my period last week. I thought it might've been stress because of my parents, but now I'm not so sure." she replied.

"My mom will probably be more understanding then your parents at this point. Let's pick you up a test and go to my house. I want to know for sure before we flip out."

After they picked up a test at the drugstore across the street from the apartment building where Rick lived, then ran up to his place. They agreed not to put off knowing any longer, so Kate went straight to the bathroom. But on her way there, she ran into Martha, Rick's mom.

"Hey, kiddo! How's everything going?" Martha had always liked Kate compared to the other bimbos that Rick usually dated.

"It's going pretty well. I-" Before she could finish her sentence, she had to run past Martha to the bathroom to puke, Again. Martha seemed to be in shock, and frankly felt bad for her, so she followed suit. What Kate didn't realize while she was puking, is the contents of her purse had spilled onto the floor in all the commotion, including the pregnancy test. Martha's eyes were drawn directly to it, and Rick and Kate were caught.

"Oh my goodness. You think your pregnant?" Martha asked Kate.

"I mean, I'm late and I'm sick, so I just wanted to be sure. I figured it was better to take it over here than at my house. If my parents found this, they would kill me." Kate answered.

"I'm not saying it's a good thing, but if it's positive, there's nothing we can do about it at this point. Just take the test, and we can all act accordingly based on what it says."

Kate agreed, and Martha gave her her privacy. It took no time at all to "pee on a stick", and before long, she knew the answer to the question on everyone's minds. She opened the door and saw two Rogers waiting expectantly for her answer.

"It's positive," she told them.


	2. Chapter 2

After she calmly broke the news to her boyfriend and his parents, Kate could no longer hold back the tears. She started sobbing uncontrollably, and collapsed onto the floor.

"I have no idea what to do," she sobbed.

"Well what can we do? We're seventeen! We can't raise a kid!" Rick said as he started to storm off.

"Why not?" asked Martha.

Rick and Kate glanced up at her with puzzled looks.

"I had you when I was eighteen, remember Richard? If I can do it by myself, you and Kate most certainly can," she exclaimed. "I'm not saying you have to, but don't throw that option out the window from the start."

"How am I supposed to be the first female chief justice if I have a child hanging around? No. We are most certainly not raising this baby." Kate voiced.

Then, Rick came and sat next to her, and Kate could practically see the wheels turning in his head. Holding her hand, he said "We could do it, you know."

"What?"

"You could use it in your campaign. Say that you have nothing to hide. People would go for it."

But all Kate heard was _I want to have this kid with you_. And she didn't know whether she liked that or not.


	3. Chapter 3

_Hey guys sorry the last chapter was so short, looks like they might be a little shorter from now on._

After all this mess, Kate decided she needed some air in order to fully think this through. She stepped onto the balcony that overlooked the busy New York City street. _Can I really do this?_ she wondered. _And do I want Rick to be a part of it?_

Suddenly, she turned around to see that Rick had followed her outside.

"Hey, babe. I'm sorry to follow you out here like this, as you probably need some space to think. I've thought about it, and I fully support you in whatever decision you make. I will stay with you, even if you decide to keep this baby."

"I know you will. I'm just really freaking out, and I know that I won't be able to decide anything without telling my parents. And I want you to be there when I do. In fact, my dad and I are supposed to meet my mom for dinner tonight. Why don't you come too?" she replied.

"If that's what you want, of course."

* * *

Later that evening Rick, Kate, and Jim Beckett all waited at the family's favorite restaurant for Johanna Beckett to arrive. They decided to go ahead and order without her, as she always ordered the same thing when they came here. So did all of the Becketts, for that matter. But this night was different. The waiter named Alex then came to take their order, and after Rick ordered, he started to walk away.

"Alex, wait. I want to change it up tonight." Kate exclaimed.

"What do you mean, Katie? You've ordered the same thing here since you were seven," Alex replied.

"What can I say? I want to try something new. I'll have the All-American Cheeseburger."

"I thought you didn't like cheese?" Alex asked.

"I do tonight!" she answered, nervously.

Alex shrugged and walked away to go place their orders, as Kate and Rick continued to avoid looking at Jim.

"What's the matter you two? You've been avoiding me all night. What did you do, run away and get married or something?" Jim questioned the couple.

Kate and Rick glanced at each other, trying to hide their expressions. Finally, Kate blurted "We might have to after this!"

"What do you mean?" said Jim, confused. Then a light bulb seemed to turn on inside his head as he realized what was truly going on. "Katie, are you pregnant?"

She slowly nodded as tears started to stream down her face. Rick turned and hugged her. "I'm so sorry dad. I don't know what to do!"

An exasperated sigh escaped from Jim's lips. "We'll just have to talk to your mother. She always knows what to do with this stuff, I've never really been good with it."

Next, Alex showed up with their food, but he could sense the tension at the table so he left them quickly. They finished their dinner in silence, waiting for Johanna to show up. After they had finished and paid, Kate broke the silence.

"Why is she so late? It's been two hours! We've been planning this for weeks- I don't know why she can't be bothered to show up just once."

"Katherine Beckett, I'm sure your mother has a very good reason for not coming tonight. Now come on, we're leaving. Say goodbye to Rick." And with that, Jim walked out of the restaurant.

"I really want you to be there when I tell my mom." Kate told Rick.

"I know you do, but your dad seems pretty pissed right now. I think I should catch a cab and go home," he stated.

"You're probably right. Until tomorrow,ok?"

"Always."

Kate sat in silence on the way home, in protest of the way her dad was handling the situation. When they pulled up to their house, Kate couldn't believe her eyes. A police car was sitting in the driveway, and her mom's car wasn't there. Kate and Jim raced to meet the officer, and they would never forget the words that came out of his mouth.

"Jim and Kate Beckett?"

They nodded, solemnly.

"I'm so sorry to inform you that Johanna Beckett has been murdered."


	4. Chapter 4

_Sorry it's short again, I seriously cannot make up my mind! Any suggestions?_

When Rick got home, he found his mother waiting up for him.

"Hi, how was the dinner?" she asked her son.

"Well,,, um… Johanna never showed, but her dad figured it out before we told him. Kate was kind of ticked that she didn't show up, but she'll get over it," he replied.

"How did he take it?"

"Well, he was mad, naturally, but he wanted to talk things over with Johanna before he did anything too rash," he answered.

"Good. He always striked me as someone who has a level head," Martha added.

"Yeah well, I better do some homework before bed. I'll see you in the morning," Rick grumbled.

* * *

Around one o'clock in the morning, a sopping wet Kate knocked on the door of her boyfriend's home. She looked disheveled, and could not stop crying to save her life. This day had obviously been way too much for her. When a startled Martha answered the door, she had no idea what to say.

"Oh my goodness- Kate! What are you do-" Martha interrupted herself to stop from embarrassing the poor girl, It was clear that she needed somewhere to go, and she quickly rushed Kate inside.

"Don't go too far, I'll get Rick and some things to warm you up," stated Martha.

Kate waited a moment or two before Rick practically ran down the stairs to see her.

"Kate, babe, ohmygod. Are you ok?"

"I mean…. my.." Kate could no longer control her sobs, or bring herself to say what had really happened tonight. She sat on the sofa, pulled out her phone, and typed _My mom was murdered_. Rick joined her in sitting, glanced at what she was typing, and could not believe what he saw. He pulled her close as if to say "I'm not going anywhere". There they fell into a restless sleep, something they both had forgotten how to do.


End file.
